.jpg)
"VO"
VO stands for voiceover, which is what a narrator reads. A VO is often recorded (or as we say "tracked") in a sound booth so there's no matching video to go along with it.
"SOT"
SOT is either pronounced as an acronym (S-O-T) or as its own word (sot). In any case, it means "Sound On Tape", commonly known as a soundbite. Unlike with VOs, SOTs include matching video of the person speaking.
"B-Roll"
B-Roll is an old production term that has long outlasted its cousin "A-Roll." A-Roll is actually the same thing as a SOT, which makes B-Roll pretty much everything else. B-Roll is the "cover video" of any action that's happening, whether it's a busy intersection, a cook in a kitchen or a lion chasing an antelope.
"Raw Video"
This is an important one to know. Raw video is totally unedited video, just as it was recorded, straight out of the camera. Every mistake, every shake, every line flub, everything. It's great to keep a copy of the raw video from any shoot. You never know when you'll need it."Nats"
Nats means "natural sound" (listen, don't blame me, I didn't come up with this stuff). Natural sound is ambient noise, like the sound of traffic or birds chirping. A "nat pop" is a term we use in editing when the finished video intentionally breaks from VOs or SOTs to play some natural sound, like the crack of a baseball bat, and then return to VOs or SOTs.
"Sequence"
A sequence is a complete action shown in chronological order from different angles. An example of a sequence would be a wide shot of a person chopping onions in a kitchen, then a very close up shot of the blade cutting the onions, and then a medium shot of the cook dropping the onions into a frying pan. Building a sequence makes a single camera shoot look bigger budget, as if you had three cameras rolling at once. First, you'd shoot the entire action from a wide point of view, then shoot the entire action again from a different angle or focal length (medium shot or close up) and then maybe even again from a different angle or focal length. In editing, these shots are cut together to form-- voila!-- a sequence.
"Room Tone"
Sometimes after an interview, we need to get what's called room tone, by sitting quietly while the camera records for 30 seconds. Every space has it's own ambient noise, often from ventilation systems. In editing, it's good to have just the sound of the room on hand for reasons I won't bore you with. Just sit back, relax and be a little patient when it's happening.
"Dub"
A dub is nothing more than a copy of a video (whether it be the raw video or an edited piece), and "dubbing" simply means the act of making a copy. Why we say "dub" is beyond me, but it's what we do.
There are many more terms used in video production, but these are likely the most common you'll come across. If I ever say a term you don't understand let me know; I'm always happy to explain myself. And if you use these terms in front of me, I promise to be very impressed with your video prowess.
